What I’ve Read Lately: Vol. #1

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Guess what I get asked the most questions about? Travel? Nope. Love? Nope. What I’m wearing? Nope. What I’m reading? Bingo! It’s so funny because I don’t usually make very many book recommendations, but I’m always reading something and you guys tend to ask me about it. I have a hard time writing “Best Of” book guides, because I like something about all the books I read and I have a hard time telling you which one is the best. My taste in books is also very eclectic and on any given month, I’m probably into a different type of genre. One month that might mean productivity books and another month it might mean trashy beach reads. That’s why book guides based on your mood, like this one, are much easier for me to write. That being said, I don’t want to leave those of you asking me what I’m reading hanging. So I’m starting this new blog series where everyalmost every month I’ll share with you what I’ve read recently and my honest thoughts on what I thought. So here we go! Let’s talk books!

I have never been a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s books and she thoroughly annoyed me in Eat, Pray, Love,which is whyI was reluctant to try Big Magic. I kept hearing such great things that I finally decided to give it a try. I LOVED it! I listened to it as an audio book and it was a nice touch to hear the author read the book, but it would also be a great physical book to read. I felt so inspired the whole time I listened to this book and re-energized to work on my creative projects. I highly recommend this book to any creatives out there. Here are some points that really resonated with me:

Don’t do things for others, do it for yourself. This includes creative projects. Don’t write a book because you want to help someone. Write it because you want to help yourself. If it ends up helping someone in the process, all the better.

Creativity lies within each and every person, although it may manifest itself in different ways like writing, wood working, knitting, photography, etc. Don’t judge whether you are creative enough or not. Just create.

Create whether you feel inspired or not. Do it every single day and work at it. Inspiration may not come for several years, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still create beautiful work in the meantime.

When considering your relationship with fear, look at your life like a road trip. Fear can come along for the ride, but fear cannot select the music and definitely cannot be the driver

Verdict:

Bassam and I listened to The Couple Next Door as an audio book while on a road trip. While it kept us entertained enough to stay awake, it wasn’t great. The story dragged a bit and we didn’t feel anything for the characters. It’s hard to feel invested in the story outcome when you don’t really care about the characters. I had high hopes for this since I had heard it would be like Gone Girl, but it wasn’t as good as Gone Girl by ANY means.

Verdict:

Bassam and I also listened to this one as an audio book. We watched the movie shortly after and Bassam finally understood what I mean when I say, “the book is always better”. That being said, we didn’t really like the book or the movie, but we did like the book better. I feel like we are in the minority with this one. I know most people loved The Girl On The Train, but we just weren’t impressed. Maybe I just have too high of expectations after Gone Girl, but neither this or The Couple Next Door quite blew me away like Gone Girl. We were able to figure out the ending pretty early on and the character development wasn’t strong enough.

Verdict:

The Light of Parisbrought back to life the magic and feeling of possibility that I always experience in Paris. I loved wandering around 1920’s Paris with one of the main characters. I also love books that are multi generational and switch between two different characters whose story lines cross. The end made me a bit teary eyed with the sweet way the story lines tied together, which is exactly what I love. That being said, I didn’t love one of the main characters. She was too whiny for me and frustrated me with her lack of action to take control of her life. I had a hard time feeling compassionate towards her. All in all, it’s a good read and I recommend it if you’re a Paris lover like me.

Verdict:

I listened to this one as an audio book and while it did take me a few months to finish, I really enjoyed it. Cork Dork was written by a journalist who decided to dive into the mysterious world of sommeliers. It’s more than just a fun romp through her experience, but it was also a little technical and serious at times. I learned a lot about wine and fine dining and have been recommending it to all the vinos and foodies I know. That being said, I do think you need to be a pretty serious wine lover or lover of learning to enjoy this book, given that it is a bit technical at times. It taught me a lot about how to order a good bottle of wine at a restaurant, what to expect when dining, what it really takes to be a master sommelier (it’s not for me), and how to improve my sense of smell.

Verdict:

After a recent trip to France, I decided to overhaul my beauty routine with mainly French products. Most of these products came from Caudalie and so I decided to read the book the founder of the company wrote. I love reading books by women who launched successful businesses and also women who believe in a work-life balance. The book doesn’t go into too much detail about how Mathilde formed the company, but mainly focuses on skin care. A lot of the information was basic and things I already knew, but I truly enjoyed the book. It was just such a pleasant read and I loved Mathilde’s writing style. It felt like hanging out with my very own French BFF who was encouraging me to take care of myself. Some of the reviews commented that they felt the entire book was an advertisement. I thought Mathilde was very fair. She mentioned other products she uses and of course included plugs for Caudalie. I don’t see why she wouldn’t, I would hope she would feel her product is the best! Reading the book really inspired me to adopt a more serious beauty routine and to truly enjoy taking care of myself. Here’s a post about my french inspired beauty routine.

Verdict:

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a short and light read, but it’s just such a cozy and happy read. It’s the book equivalent of curling yourself in a blanket with a warm cup of delicious tea. The book itself is pure hygge. Learning about hygge was really interesting and I was inspired to add hygge to my own life. This is one I’ll be re-reading and recommending to others. Now I’m wanting to visit Denmark so badly and I’ve added many other books about Denmark to my reading list! You’ll probably see one on my next edition of Reading Lately.

Verdict:

As you can see from my reading list, I’ve been in a Paris mood lately. The Sweet Lifewas one that really hit the spot for me. Although, I can’t say it satisfied my Parisian cravings; it actually may have intensified it. David is a San Franciscan pastry chef who moves to Paris after his partner’s death. The book revolves around his adventures in setting up a home in Paris, including the trials of cooking in a tiny kitchen and dealing with (at times) less than friendly Parisians. His recount of his experiences are laugh-out-loud funny and I rarely ever laugh out loud while reading. I loved following along on his adventure and couldn’t put the book down. I bookmarked almost every place he recommended. For those of you that love recipes and reading cookbooks, this book will also satisfy that craving as well. He lists a recipe per chapter as well as the inspiration for the recipe. I promptly ordered two of his cookbooks after finishing the memoir.

Verdict:

I listened to this as an audio book on my way home from Paris. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read and I do prefer her other book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, but it was entertaining enough for the plane ride. The book focuses pretty heavily on business and I learned a lot about Mireille’s accomplishments that I didn’t know, but I didn’t really learn anything new about business. I did learn that my etiquette isn’t really up to snuff. I learned etiquette tips that kinda blew my mind, such as:

How to cut cheese on a cheese board {Depends on the cheese, but if it’s a triangle like brie, you cut lengthwise from the side. You never ever cut the tip, which is what I’ve been doing!}

The reason you never get bread plates when dining in France is because your bread is supposed to go to the side of your dinner plate, directly on the table

When you get up to go to the restroom, your dinner napkin is placed on your chair {!!!}

While I loved learning more about dining etiquette, I kind of wished I just read an etiquette book instead. I don’t recommend this one.

Verdict:

This was another audio book I listened to. I love food fantasy type stories where food can take on magical properties. I also love stories that follow multiple people and story lines that end up intersecting. Although this book had both of those things going for it, it wasn’t one of my favorites. It was enjoyable and definitely a delight to read with all the food descriptions, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t put down. I didn’t fall in love with the characters and the story didn’t stay with me for days after finishing. If you come across it and have nothing else to read, it’s enjoyable and could entertain you.

Verdict:

What I couldn’t finish:

I don’t believe in torturing myself. If I can’t get into a book or I’m not excited to continue reading, I stop reading! There are way too many good books out there to read a less than stellar one. Here are the books that just weren’t for me:

Ugh. I just found this book to be so annoying. Maybe the problem was the narrator since I listened to it as an audio book, but it just felt so forced and fake to me. When the narrator got to the part about how she cried at the produce section of the grocery store because it was all so beautiful, I had to turn it off. If she really did feel that much happiness from the produce, props to her. But it just sounded a bit fake to me and fake is something I can’t do.

This is one I’ve been trying to finish for over a month now. When I’m listening to a good audio book I can’t wait to have it on while I’m driving. This one I had to force myself to turn on. At this point, I think I’m just going to give up on it. It’s a cool story in theory, the writer moves to France part time after the death of her mother. You guys know how much I love a good moving to France story. But it just felt fake, there was no substance, and the narrator annoyed me. This one is getting returned.

Have you read anything good lately? I’d love to hear your suggestions on what to read next!

Okay, I’m totally an outlier when it comes to Outlander, but I couldn’t get into it! I watched the first two episodes and didn’t really get into it and listened to a couple hours of the audio book before I returned it. Maybe I need to try reading it in print. If you liked it, that says a lot!

I have read several of the books on this list and I found myself agreeing and nodding my head as I looked over your review. I HATED Eat, Pray, Love and really didn’t care for The Girl On The Train (despite many rave reviews– it was just ‘meh’ for me). There were a couple on here that I would love to check out. Thank you for the round-up!